Vehicle-fender



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W. CLAYTON. VEHICLE FENDER.

Patented Feb. 8, 1898.

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W. CLAYTON.

VEHICLE FENDER.

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airs TA'IES arnn'r IVILLIAM CLAYTON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

VEH lots-FEM DER.

I SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 598,769, dated February 8, 1898. Application filed May 15, I897. $erial ble-636,617. (No model.)

' vided with a pneumatic roller carried in the sill of the car-platform.

front of said fender.

The invention possesses features of novelty hereinafter described and claimed.

My invention relates to certain improve ments hereinafter pointed out and claimed.

Figure I shows a side elevation of my device. Fig. II shows a front elevation, looking directly at the front of the car. Fig. III is a detail perspective view showing the frame of the fender and the trip-hook which controls the position of the parts. Fig. IV illustrates a top plan view of the fender. Fig. V is a section taken along the line V V of Fig. IV. Fig. VI is a side view of a ratchet and Wheel, taken along the line VI VI of Fig. IV. Fig.VII is a cross-section of the pneumatic roller,taken along the line VII VII of Fig. IV. Fig. VIII is a perspective view of the trip-hook, hanger, and lever by which a motorman controls the device. I

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the front 2 is a hanger suspended therefrom. 3 is abracket and hook rigidly attachedto the said hanger.

41 is the frame of the main fender, whose rear bar sets in the hooks 3 and is secured therein by means of the pin 5. Pivoted in the bracket'3 at 6 is a lever 7, which extends up through the platform to a point convenient to the motorman and 'whose lower end terminates in a hook 8, adapted to engage a bar 9. This bar 9 is rigidly attached to side bars 10, which terminate in the rear in hooks 11, adapted to engage under pins 12, carried on the bracket 3.

13 is avertical frame pivotally attached to the frame 4 and held in position either by a brace-rod 14, Fig. I, or a chain 15, Fig. IV.

able construction.

but one direction.

16 is the material stretched in the frames 4 and 13, which is of netting or any other suit- It is preferably pliable and yielding.

17 and 18 are frames to cut-outs in the net, which are supplied with trap-doors 19 and 20, said trap-doors admitting of an opening for the draw-head of the car when the fender is swung up out of position, as when in the sheds, to economize space, or when on the rear of the car, and consequently not in use.

21 are ratchet-wheels carried on a shaft 21, said shaft being supported by the bar 10. This bar 10 also carries a check 22, which admits of the said ratchet-wheel 21 turning in Rigid with the ratchet is a wheel 23, adapted to ride on the car-track.

24 is a wheel connected with 23 by means of a chain 25, which is crossed for the purpose of imparting reverse motion thereto.

26 is a pneumatic roller or guard carried on the forward end of the bar-frame 10. It is formed with a hollow inflatable casing capable of being inflated with air. 27 is its central shaft, and 28 are braces for the casing, extending parallel with the shaft and form ing a skeleton frame that acts as a distender for the inflatable casing.

The device is operated as follows: The parts are normally in the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. I. It will be observed that the pneumatic roller 26 is elevated therein to a considerable distance above the track and that the hook 11 engages under the pin 12. sion of the spring 29 serves to aid in maintaining this position. Now if there is an obstruction .on the track which will strike the pneumatic roller 26, or if the device he operated by the motorman by means of the lever 7, it will be seen that the parts are thrown into position shown by solid lines in Fig. I. The side bars 10 are made to retreat, said bars riding through the supports that attach them to the main frame. 1 Thus the hook 11 is carried far enough back to disengage itself from under the pin 12, the elevated position of the roller, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, is lost, and the fender drops to the track, so that the wheels 23 ride along the said track, the said wheel 23 causing the chain 25 to revolve and the said chain being crossed pro- (See Figs. I, IV, and VIII.) The tenduces reverse motion in the pneumatic roller 26, which causes the same to ride forward and upward from the ground. This has a tendency to throw any obstruction which may be on the track up into the net of the fender. The lever 7 being pivoted at 6 and the hook 8, the opposite end of which engages under the fixed bar 9, will likewise cause the fender to drop to the track. It will thus be seen that the device can either be voluntarily operated by the action of the motorman or automatically operated by the presence of an obstruction on the track. The ratchet-wheel 21, with its check 22, permits the wheel 23 to turn in but one direction, which causes the forward and upward motion of the pneumatic roller 26 to be its only possible motion.

The whole device is carried on the two hangers 2, and when the vehicle is not in use or when it is stored and economy of space is desired the fender may be raised to a vertical position by revolving the same upon the pivot 6. In this case it is necessary to open the trap-doors 19 and 20, so that the drawhead may project therethrough, and it is also necessary to fold the vertical fender portion 13 down against the portion 16. This is made possible by having the joint thereof a movable one and either taking out the rod 14 or using a chain 15.

The ribs 28,which are placed inside of the pneumatic roller 26,serve the purpose of keeping the same distended in the event of a punc- 5 ture or other disability.

The device as described is capable of being attached to either end of a car-body, making the same practically reversible, as the same set of hangers may be used therefor.

While I have spoken of the fender as being particularly adapted for use on street-cars, I do not limit myself to this use, as it is possible to attach it to numerous other vehicles.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent in an improvement in vehicle-fenders- 1. The combination of a fender-frame, a pneumatic roller carried at the front of said fender-frame, a second frame attached thereto and adapted to support said pneumatic roller, and a trip mechanism attached to said second frame adapted to drop the same upon impingement with an obstacle; said two frames pivoting on a common center but movable With reference to each other, substantially as described.

2. The combination consisting of a fenderframe, hangers suspended from the vehicle and in which said fenderframe pivots, a trip mechanism adapted to hold said frame elevated, means for disengaging said trip mechanism, consisting of a second frame movably attached to said first frame, a pneumatic roller carried on the front of said fender-frame, and a means of imparting backward rotation to said pneumatic roller when said trip mechanism is disengaged, substantially as described.

WVILLIAM CLAYTON. In presence of- E. S. KNIGHT, N. FINLEY. 

